{"id":356926,"date":"2026-03-31T14:38:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T14:38:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/356926\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T14:38:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T14:38:09","slug":"new-wegovy-subscription-program-offers-lower-cost-for-glp-1-drugs-exclusive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/356926\/","title":{"rendered":"New Wegovy Subscription Program Offers Lower Cost For GLP-1 Drugs: EXCLUSIVE"},"content":{"rendered":"

The maker of the GLP-1 weight-loss drug Wegovy is promising \u201ca lower, predictable monthly price\u201d for patients who use a new subscription program for the medication.<\/p>\n

The savings add up to $600 a year for the Wegovy pill<\/a> and up to $1,200 a year for the Wegovy injection with a 12-month subscription, pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk announced on Tuesday, March 31.<\/p>\n

The program is now available for self-pay patients who don\u2019t have traditional insurance, says Jamey Millar, the company\u2019s executive vice president of U.S. operations.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want patients to stay with therapy over time, and that\u2019s what this subscription model encourages,\u201d Millar told NBC News\u2019 Anne Thompson.<\/p>\n

Dr. Jorge Moreno, a Yale medicine obesity specialist, says 20-25% of his patients pay for GLP-1 drugs out of pocket since insurance coverage can be unpredictable.<\/p>\n

“This subscription plan could help them if they are able to afford $250 a month, which is still a lot,” he told Thompson.<\/p>\n

Wegovy is the version of Ozempic<\/a> approved for weight loss. Both drugs contain semaglutide, which mimics a hormone the body produces after eating. This leads to decreased appetite and feelings of fulness, helping people lose weight.<\/p>\n

How Does the Wegovy Subscription Program Work?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s available through Ro, WeightWatchers and LifeMD, starting March 31.<\/p>\n

Other telehealth providers, including Hims & Hers and Sesame, will follow soon, the company says.<\/p>\n

Self-pay patients can choose a three-, six- or 12-month Wegovy subscription. <\/p>\n

People who are already pay for those telehealth services will benefit greatly because their their costs will go down, Moreno said.<\/p>\n

But others will have to pay a membership fee to join and take part in the subscription program, which may limit any savings they’ll experience, he adds.<\/p>\n

Moreno also wondered about what kind of “off ramp” would be offered to patients who want to stop taking the medication during the subscription period.<\/p>\n

“Patients that sign up to any of these three companies, they should really be aware of: What are their options to signing up? What happens if the medication doesn’t work for them?” Moreno said.<\/p>\n

“What happens if the medication causes them significant side effects? How will that company address it? And what if they want to stop? What if they don’t want to be part of this company anymore?” <\/p>\n

Each telehealth provider will have its own terms and conditions regarding a refund, Millar noted.<\/p>\n

How Much Does It Cost?<\/p>\n

For context, self-pay prices are currently $345 per month for the Wegovy pen and $299 for the pill, according to Novo Nordisk<\/a>. (Some lower doses are cheaper as part of limited time offers.)<\/p>\n

Here are the prices under the new subscription program:<\/p>\n

For the Wegovy Pen:<\/p>\n

Patients will pay the same price for the injection regardless of the Wegovy dose they need.<\/p>\n

A three-month subscription costs $329 per month, a savings of $240 per year.A six-month subscription costs $299 per month, a savings of $600 per year.A 12-month subscription costs $249 per month, a savings of $1,200 per year.For the Wegovy Pill:<\/p>\n

The program covers 9 milligram and 25 milligram doses. The lower doses currently cost less as part of a limited time offer.<\/p>\n

A three-month subscription costs $289 per month, a savings of $120 per yearA six-month subscription costs $269 per month, a savings of $360 per yearA 12-month subscription costs $249 per month, a savings of $600 per year.<\/p>\n

Millar believes the cost will come down over time. “The cash prices continue to get more affordable,” he says.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The maker of the GLP-1 weight-loss drug Wegovy is promising \u201ca lower, predictable monthly price\u201d for patients who…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":356927,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[134,524,111,139,69],"class_list":{"0":"post-356926","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-medication","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-medication","10":"tag-new-zealand","11":"tag-newzealand","12":"tag-nz"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356926","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=356926"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356926\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/356927"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=356926"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=356926"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=356926"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}